Pitch imperfect? The message from the BCCI may have been on uniformity in pitch preparation, but doubts over the neutral-venues concept continued to be raised after the opening round of the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai-Tamil Nadu opener in Lahli, a marquee clash in Group A, finished in a little over two days, with 34 out of the 38 wickets to fall taken by the fast bowlers.It was basically a very green pitch, Abhishek Nayar, who made an unbeaten 45 to help Mumbai scrape home by two wickets, told ESPNcricinfo after the game. Initially, there was a very thick covering of grass that made it very tough for stroke-play. What made things more difficult was the outfield was super slow, so getting boundaries was not easy.It wasnt too different in Ranchi, where Chhattisgarh beat Tripura by nine wickets. While Yashpal Singh, Tripuras most experienced batsmen, termed it a rubbish pitch, Sulakshan Kulkarni, Chhattisgarhs head coach, also wasnt pleased with the surface despite his side recording a historic win. The wicket was up and down right from the start, he said. You are supposed to have consistent bounce to begin with, but here it was scooting low and shooting up right from the start. There wasnt a blade of grass. Surely better wickets can be prepared. Whats the use of playing on these kind of surfaces even after adopting neutral venues?Maharashtras loss to Jharkhand at the Karnail Singh Stadium, which was banned from hosting first-class cricket for a year in 2012, also threw the spotlight on the 22 yards. Kedar Jadhav, who scored two half-centuries in a losing cause for Maharashtra, was fuming after the game. If a match gets over in close to three days, it is not a good sign for cricket. It has to be a good quality pitch, where you get four days of competitive cricket, he told the Times of India. The result does not matter. The match has to last for four days. That is how the quality of cricket in general will rise.Uthappa, Gautam swap no more One of the reasons cited for possible discord within the Karnataka set-up during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy was that of Robin Uthappa and CM Gautam, two of their most experienced players, being in the middle of an unwanted restructuring. Karnataka began to alternate wicketkeeping duties between Uthappa and Gautam at the behest of KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel in order to facilitate Uthappas return to international cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman. The decision, which gave Karnatakas batting coach J Arun Kumar sleepless nights, resulted in a bit of friction as Gautam confessed that switching between fielding and wicketkeeping was a little irritating.In a bid to return to winning ways, the team management has made it clear to both players about their roles this time around. Last season was a learning for me; I understood a little more about team chemistry, Uthappa told the Hindu. The chemistry works with CM keeping, and I respect that. For me, it was learning, and Ive accepted that learning and grown with that.Shreyas, Shardul boost for Mumbai Mumbai will be boosted by the returns of Shardul Thakur and Shreyas Iyer for their second match against Baroda in Delhi. Shardul was called up to the Indian team as a late replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the eve of Mumbais opening game against Tamil Nadu, while Shreyas, last seasons highest run-scorer, missed the match because of a quadriceps injury.Vijay and Harbhajan at NCA M Vijay has been asked to report to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a rehabilitation programme, and therefore will not be available to play for Tamil Nadu in the third round of the Ranji Trophy, starting October 20. The TNCA had earlier requested the BCCI to release Vijay, whose next international commitments, fitness permitting, will be the Test series against England, which starts on November 9 in Rajkot.Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh, who was initially not named for just the first fixture, will not lead Punjab in the second round too. Harbhajan is currently at the NCA for a fitness assessment. Cheap Jerseys USA . 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SEOUL, South Korea -- The first ice sports event to be held at Pyeongchang -- host of the 2018 Winter Olympics -- started on Friday with the 33rd KSU Short Track Speed Skating Championships.Construction of Gangneung Ice Arena, which will also host figure-skating in February 2018, was finished in December. There will be a total of six new venues in place.The completion of the ice venues is a meaningful step for Pyeongchang 2018, said Choi Moon-soon, Governer of Gangwon Province, home to Pyeongchang.After Pyeongchang 2018, they will be returned to the public and open doors for potential athletes and create new horizons for Gangneung residents.The World Cup leg, which sees qualification on Friday with competition on Satuurday and Saturday across 10 individual or relay events, doubles as a test event for operational aspects of the arena.ddddddddddddAlmost 200 athletes from 31 countries, including three-time gold medal winner Charles Hamelin of Canada, are expected to compete over the weekend with organizers reporting that the 12,000 seater venue is over 90 percent sold-out.South Korea is a traditional power in speed-skating. 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